COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Fans turned out in large numbers last fall to back the Tennessee Tech football team, and it paid off as the Golden Eagles shared the Ohio Valley Conference championship.

Since the end of the 2011 season, those fans -- and many more -- have had plenty to talk about when discussing the prospects of a repeat in 2012.

On Saturday, they will have a chance to see first-hand just how coach Watson Brown's sixth edition is shaping up as the Golden Eagles wrap up spring practices with the annual Purple-Gold Spring Game. The team will be on the field at 11 a.m. and action should begin around 11:15. Fans are invited to attend the event in Tucker Stadium and admission is free.

Brown expects his squad to run approximately 60 plays from scrimmage, and the event will be held rain or shine.

The scrimmage format will give Brown's coaching staff a final chance to look at a large number of players who are hoping to emerge into larger roles for the 2012 season.

"Spring drills are the most important time of the year for a team on the field," Brown said. "This is when we find players, and we've had a really good opportunity to look at a lot of players during the past couple weeks.

"The last practice is really for them (the players)," Brown said. "We've gotten our work done, the last hard work day was today (Thursday), so we'll let them fly around and have a little fun on Saturday. We're still making some decisions though as to who's back in the 95 and who's in what spot on the depth chart. This last scrimmage is important for things like that."

In addition to the action on the field, fans will have the opportunity to purchase their season tickets for 2012. A tent will be set up near the Southwest corner of the Overall Field where fans may purchase tickets. A gift will be given to anyone purchasing their tickets during Saturday's event.